Peter Groves

I qualified as a solicitor 29 years ago and worked in-house for the first 7 years of my career, then went into private practice in London. I combined work and study for a few years, and obtained an MA in business law (in the course of which I learnt a great deal) and a PhD (which has been, professionally, useless, except that I feel more comfortable with German lawyers who are all "Dr"). My work has always focussed on intellectual rpoperty law (predominantly trade marks and copyright, though my strongest intersest remains design protection), IT law (especially contracts and data protection), and competition law (antitrust, to readers from the USA). My real pet subject is automotive distribution and servicing agreements, and I wrote my doctoral theses about the treatment of these under EC competition rules.

I have written six or seven books, mostly on IP law but also one on European Community law. They are all best forgotten - and are long out of date, and out of print. But I am working on new writing projects, including a new edition of an IP textbook which is appearing as a serial here and will in due course be accompanied by lectures. I also write three blogs, of which IPso Jure is about intellectual property law, The Blog Exemption about automotive distribution agreements and my personal blog about anything else that interests me, which mostly means running.

I present courses for Central Law Training and Quorum Training. These cover nearly the entire IP spectrum, competition law, data protection, e-commerce and IT contracts. Naturally, I am receptive to any requests to give talks and will very happily travel to do so. I am also launching a monthly podcast on developments in IP law.

I have worked with some mid-sized London firms over the years, but last year joined some old friends in a small litigation-based firm on the edge of the City of London which I find much more amenable. I have a diverse range of clients, including a car manufacturer, a celebrity chef, a rock band, the estate of a famous sportsman, and a well-known national charity. I'm a member of the editorial sub-committee of The Trademark Reporter (and an ethusiastic member of INTA).